I loved to create black magic as a child. Before you start a witch hunt, I don’t mean the malevolent type. My “black magic” involves crayons and paper and toothpicks. Black magic may not be the most appropriate name, but I assure you that this type of black magic is very kid friendly.
I don’t remember the last time I used crayons for any craft project, but when I pulled out my craft / card-making supplies yesterday, I discovered a box of crayons that had never been opened. All my childhood memories of creating black magic masterpieces came rushing back to me and I decided to create a black magic card.
Interested in trying your hand at the “dark” art of black magic? I’ll show you how…
Supplies
- Crayons (make sure you have a black one!)
- Paper
- An object with a point like a toothpick or skewer
Step 1
Draw a shape and color it in. You can draw a design with pictures (like I did with the flowers for my card). Or, you can create a rectangle or square to use as your canvas (like I did below).
Black magic works best if you mix in lots of colors in random designs. Strips of color also work well.
Step 2
Find your black crayon and start coloring over the colored design you just created. You need to press hard and go over the design several times until the black covers up most of the color. (Warning: Black magic uses up your black crayons pretty quickly! Instead of buying a new box of crayons just to get another black crayon, we used to buy the large crayons (8-pack) that are designed for younger kids and toddlers)
Step 3
This is the fun part…find a sharp object (toothpicks or skewers work well) and draw/scratch your design with the pointed object.
Have you ever tried black magic? Do you have a more appropriate name for it? Is Google going to surprise people by bringing them to a craft blog when they’re searching for”black magic”?
[...] You’re probably familiar with the Crayola line of products, including their Color Explosion papers that came out a few years ago. Each sheet looks like plain black paper, but when colored over with a special marker it reveals a colorful pattern underneath. It’s really nifty stuff, but it retails at 50 cents or more per sheet, not to mention that the markers will eventually fizzle out and need replacement. Lindsay from Painting Lilies has a secret up her sleeve to save money: a technique using plain ol’ paper and crayons that gives the same effect! [how to make "black magic" crayon art] [...]
Forgot all about this! Love it and thanks for the memories!
Very cool!!! I remember doing this in school, instead of using black crayon we used black paint. A good rainy day project.
Oh boy! I remember doing this when I was a kid. I believe this technique is close to one called sgraffito which calls for using black ink over the crayon.
I didn’t know you could do this with paint or ink–thanks for the tips! I’ll have to give it a try next time.
This is such a fabulous idea!! Much more fun than buying the premade stuff.
We always called them scratch art.
I absolutely LOOOOVE this project! It turned out so well and you’ve inspired me to make one of my own! I also wanted to tell you that I featured you over at my blog here. Please feel free to grab a featured button if you want!
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
Thanks Mel! I hope you enjoy making your magic!